The Best European Butter Dishes of 2022: The Le Creuset and More

The best butter dishes boast aesthetics and functionality. They complement your breakfast table or dinner party with an old-fashioned appeal. They simultaneously serve a practical purpose by keeping your butter free of bacteria and at just the right temperature for spreading across that perfect slice of bread. 

Choosing the best dish depends on your personal preference and budget, but you may want to consider how well the dish succeeds in preserving food and withstanding the wear of time. This article lists some of the best butter dishes of 2022, including website links for easy purchasing.

The Best European Butter Dishes of 2022:

• Le Creuset Butter Crock
• Le Creuset European Butter Dish
• OXO Good Grips Butter Dish
• SWEEJAR Ceramics Butter Dish with Lid
• Godinger Dublin Mini Butter Parfait Dish
• Mud Pie Stoneware Butter Dish

Why Use a Butter Dish?

Butter dishes preserve your savory spread outside of a refrigerator. Although not technically necessary in a modern kitchen, butter dishes still prove useful when you want to keep your butter at room temperature. 

According to the USDA, you can keep your butter in a covered dish for up to two days without refrigeration. Therefore, a butter dish provides a good solution if you like to store your spread at room temperature for fast, convenient use.

Best European Butter Dishes

The functionality may be similar, but butter dishes have various aesthetics and materials to match your kitchen or dining room. Here is our list of the best European butter dishes, including two styles from Le Creuset and our choices for best value and gifting.

1. Le Creuset Butter Crock

Best Overall:

The Le Creuset butter bell marries a simple, everyday design with durable functionality. Often rated the best across retail stores and online marketplaces, this dish stands apart from the competition for its sturdy stoneware material, thermal resistance, and scratch-free polish. 

For a durable butter dish, Le Creuset made theirs to withstand freezers, ovens, microwaves, broilers, metal utensils, and dishwashers. For aesthetics, the brand offers customers a range of color options from classic white to cerise red.

Manufactured by a premium French brand founded in 1925, this dish promises customers long-term reliability and quality preservation. Its designers claim optimal temperatures for your butter even outdoors in summer weather. 

For full assurance, Le Creuset offers a 10-year warranty on its products. So if price is no object and you want to buy the best possible dish on the market, you may safely choose Le Creuset.

Pros

• High-quality stoneware
• Microwave, dishwasher, and freezer-safe
• Long-term warranty
• Personalizable option
• Best reviews

Cons

• Hefty price tag
• Heavy material

2. Le Creuset European Butter Dish

Best European Style:

The Le Creuset European Butter Dish is a functional but decorative European-style butter dish made of dense stoneware that helps keep moisture out and prevents rippling and cracking. The enamel exterior is stain and scratch-resistant. 

It is large enough that you can keep two sticks of butter hidden inside. You can store it on the counter or in the fridge. Additionally, the stoneware means that it is also microwave safe. 

Pros

• Ten-year warranty
• Easy to clean, dishwasher safe
• Microwave safe

Cons

• No customer reviews on the Le Creuset website
• Large size takes up more room

3. OXO Good Grips Butter Dish

Best Value:

On the other side of the price spectrum, OXO Good Grips provides a competitive alternative that still functions well enough to stand among the more traditional-looking European butter dishes. 

This transparent plastic dish includes a butter stopper to hold sticks in place and measurement grooves for slicing out perfect tablespoons, which is ideal for recipes. 

The OXO Good Grips signature butter dish also holds a strong reputation for everyday wear, durability, modern appearance, and easy-to-clean design. The OXO brand may be a sound choice if you are looking for a simple but effective dish with some unique features.

Pros

• Price
• Non-slip base
• Measurement guides
• Dishwasher safe

Cons

• No personalization options
• Not safe for microwaves
• Plastic material

4. SWEEJAR Ceramics Butter Dish with Lid

Best Sturdy Design:

The SWEEJAR brand gives customers a cute yet durable ceramic butter dish. The sturdy material can handle dishwashers, microwaves, refrigerators, and ovens. 

According to the manufacturer, the dish’s thick walls also prevent the butter from getting too hard in the refrigerator or too soft at room temperature. Offered in nine unique colors, the SWEEJAR dish promises to be the perfect addition to your Sunday brunch table.

Pros

• Aesthetic design
• Durable material
• Long-term wear
• Affordable

Cons

• Less durable than stoneware

5. Godinger Dublin Mini Butter Parfait Dish

Best Formal Design:

Godinger offers some of the best high-quality, formal dishwares, and its butter dishes are no exception. The Dublin mini butter parfait dish adds timeless class to any table, with a delicate appearance that will surely elicit compliments from your guests. 

One of the more unique options on this list, customer reviews still boast of the product’s durability, sturdy crystal material, and long-term use. This option provides an excellent alternative for consumers looking for a functional dish but who fancy an aesthetically pleasing product.

Pros

• Beautiful design
• Durable
• Great price

Cons

• Not safe for ovens, microwaves, or dishwashers
• Not everyday use
• Small size

6. Mud Pie Stoneware Butter Dish

Best Gifting Option:

Mud Pie’s stoneware butter dish is a pleasant addition to any table. The unique yet sturdy product works well for personal use and for gifting friends and family for occasions ranging from birthdays, house-warmings, mother’s day, or Thanksgiving. 

You may also feel confident in the stoneware material, which keeps butter at an optimal temperature while resisting scratching and denting. The included stainless steel and pinewood spreader also adds a nice finishing touch.

Pros

• Nice design
• Stoneware material
• Spreader included

Cons

• Handwash only
• Small size

Final Thoughts

There is nothing like taking your warm toast out of the toaster and being able to slather it with soft butter immediately. The beauty of butter is that you can keep it at room temperature, and excellent quality and durable butter dishes will do just that. 

If you’re in the market for a butter dish, Le Creuset and the other manufacturers are great options for a quality European butter dish that fits any kitchen aesthetic.